Into the unknown
by shannyforever
Summary: Casey's proposal prompts Jane and Maura to try to work through their feelings...
1. Chapter 1

As Jane, Maura and Frost sat at the Dirty Robber at the same table, each had very different thoughts going through their mind; and none of them were thinking about the clown case they successfully solved that day.

Frost was still trying to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend would be leaving… and the fact that it was something Maura had said to her that made her want to leave. To be fair, he knew he couldn't really blame Maura. Honestly, he was convinced that Maura's advice was really meant for someone else… Not that he would ever interfere with Jane and Maura's friendship. Deep down, he also knew that leaving was her own decision, and that it was a great opportunity for her. The only question was… should he follow her?

Jane's misery was much harder for others to recognise, because she insisted on always putting on a brave face, or making jokes to hide her true feelings. Casey had left so abruptly, giving them little opportunity to discuss what the next step in the relationship should be. If indeed, it should continue to be a relationship at all. She had no doubt that she loved Casey. The problem was, she knew she didn't love him enough to give up her job in order to be with him. Deep down, she also knew that if either of them were to give up their career, they would only end up breaking up anyway, and it will have all been for nothing.

Maura sat across from Jane torn. While on the surface, it was apparent that she was very sorry to have caused Frost so much pain, what she was really trying to cope with was how close she came (or thought she came) to losing her best friend. What also troubled her was the magnitude of her feelings. Yes, it was normal to feel upset at the thought of her best friend no longer living in the same city. What she struggled to understand was why seeing the ring on Jane's finger made her heart ache more fiercely than she had ever experienced. She compared it to the end of her relationship with Ian, whom she had once dubbed the love of her life, and she realised that the pain did not compare at all. She realised that if Jane left to be with Casey, her heart would break, and she wasn't sure it would ever heal.

As Jane and Maura stood outside the Dirty Robber watching Frost drive off in a cab, they turned to each other and began talking at the same time.

"Jane, I'm..."…"So do you…"

They looked at each other and smiled, before Maura insisted with a short nod that Jane continue.

"I was just going to ask if you wanted to continue this at mine. I know I probably won't be very good company, but…" Jane let the sentence trail off as she searched Maura's face for an answer.

Maura hesitated to answer as she searched Jane's eyes. She realised not long after meeting Jane that Jane's eyes always held the truth about her emotions. There weren't many people who could see past the fake smile and the casual demeanour that Jane paraded around. Indeed, there weren't many that really tried. But Maura was someone who did. She knew that if she looked into Jane's eyes, there's nothing shecould really hide from her.

"I'll drive," Maura finally replied. "You've had too much to drink."

Maura began to walk towards her car, followed by Jane who was right on her heels in no time.

"Urgh, I had three beers," Jane whined as she pulled into step with Maura. "Hardly constitutes as 'too much to drink'."

"Too much to drink to legally operate a vehicle, Jane," Maura chided.

"Fine, but you will have to drop me back in the morning," Jane conceded as they turned the corner towards Maura's car.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm not big on author intro's, so let's get straight into it :-)**

"Wine?"

"Of course," Maura replied, as she followed Jane into her apartment and headed towards the kitchen. She watched as Jane grabbed a wine glass from the cupboard and filled it to her liking with just the right amount of wine, before turning to place the bottle back in the kitchen cabinet.

"Perhaps you could just bring the bottle," Maura said as she picked up her wine, causing Jane to turn with the bottle still in hand, the expression 'really?' written all over her face.

"It's been a long day," Maura responded with an uncharacteristic shrug as she turned on her heel and went to make herself comfortable on the couch.

Jane followed shortly after with the bottle of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. She sat heavily next to Maura before placing the wine on the table and tipping her head back to guzzle her beer.

"So," Jane started as she sat back and turned on the couch to look at her best friend as she sat sipping her wine. "Long day?"

Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath before turning to face Jane. "I'm sorry about today. I didn't mean to get so…" she sighed, closing her eyes again in an attempt to keep her emotions in check. "I didn't mean to get so emotional. I should have squealed when you showed me the ring."

Jane let out a slight laugh, "Maura, you are not the squealing type, and I'm not the gushing, girly type. You don't have to apologise."

After a moment, Jane sat up abruptly, fluttering her right hand about in front of her face, before letting out an excited mock squeal as she placed her left hand out under Maura's nose. Initially taken off guard at the unexpected movement, Maura could only laugh in response. They shared a laugh as they sat back into the couch, drinks in hand.

"Did you know that the clown first appeared in the third millennium BC in Egypt?" Maura said as a matter of fact, turning to face Jane. "They were entertainers who were allowed to mock everybody, including the rulers."

Jane smirked at Maura with her abundance of knowledge. "No, I did not know that."

Maura took this as a sign of encouragement to continue. "Yes, and originally, the circus clown was hired to fill the gap between two shows. He created a gesticulating diversion allowing the acrobats and animals to prepare for their entrance."

"Wow, Maura. That is so interesting," Jane replied before taking a sip of her beer.

Maura looked at Jane through squinted eyes in mock annoyance. "Don't mock me, Jane," she replied before pushing a finger teasingly into her ribs.

They sat in companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Occasionally their eyes would meet, but it was never an uncomfortable glance. Jane stood to grab another bottle of beer; Maura watching as she went before topping up her glass of wine.

Jane sat heavily back on the couch with her beer and a sigh. "I don't think I can marry Casey."

Maura turned her body to face Jane, both confused and relieved, but vowing to be a supportive friend.

Jane turned her head to look into Maura's eyes, looking away again as she tried to explain. "You know how they say 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'? Well, Casey is absent all the time," she explained, turning to mirror Maura's position as she continued. "It's like, when he's away, all I want is for him to be here, but then when he's here… I just want him to leave."

Maura offered an understanding nod in response, not trusting herself to say any more.

"I mean, I do love him," Jane continued, although sounding unsure of her declaration. "But I just know that if one of us gives up our career, or if neither of us gives up our career, it just won't work out between us."

"But Jane," Maura started, placing a hand over Jane's, "how do you know if you don't try?"

Jane looked at Maura's hand covering her own, before raising her eyes to meet Maura's questioning ones.

"Because I don't… I just don't think I even want to try," Jane replied, letting out a long breath. "Wow, that just sounds so terrible, doesn't it," she finished before taking a large swig of her beer.

"Not at all, Jane," Maura replied, caressing Jane's hand in a comforting matter. "You don't want to settle, and if you feel like you might be, then you are making the right decision."

"You think?"

"I know," Maura replied with a small smile. Jane returned her smile before Maura continued. "Jane, you deserve to be with someone that wants to make you happy, no matter what. More importantly, someone who you want to make happy, no matter what."

Jane nodded, understanding what Maura was saying. They sat in silence once again, comforted by the simple fact that they were together. Neither feeling the need to fill the silence in order to simply fill the silence.

"Do you," Jane started, before clearing her throat. "Do you regret not going to be with Ian?" she finished, her eyes not meeting Maura's, but remaining on the cushion that lay between them.

Maura reflected again on her earlier thoughts about how insignificant the pain of losing Ian was in comparison to the thought of losing Jane.

"Honestly, no, I don't," Maura replied confidently. She sought out Jane's eyes before she continued. "I realised… after he left," she began, withholding the fact that it was the thought of losing Jane that made her realisation apparent, "that what I felt for Ian was… superficial. I realised it was the anticipation of what could be that drew me to him and made me think that I loved him. But in all honesty, we never knew each other enough to really be in love. Our fleeting moments together were thrilling, but they didn't hold anything real."

"I think I know what you mean," Jane replied, reflecting on her relationship with Casey. "I just can't imagine changing anything in my life to accommodate for him, which is… which is horrible, isn't it? I mean, if I loved him, shouldn't I be able to make sacrifices to make us work?"

"In a way, yes," Maura replied. "Studies have shown that relationships that involve making compromises are indeed the strongest relationships."

"You mean, like when you say 'I want you to eat something green tonight', and I say 'I'll order extra pickles on my burger? That kind of compromise?" Jane replied, unable to hold back the sarcasm.

Maura smiled in a way that let Jane know, that she knew, that Jane knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Sorry," Jane said with a smile. "I do know what you're saying."

"Jane," Maura began, sitting forward to place her wine on the coffee table before taking Jane's free hand in both of her own. "I don't want to tell you what I think you should do, or whether or not I think you should marry Casey. I realise that my opinion is very much a bias one, and I don't believe it would be fair on you. But… Jane, promise me that whatever decision you make will be based on what you want."

Jane nodded, feeling the onset of tears approaching as Maura continued.

"I'm sorry that I was so emotional today, and I don't want to make you feel like you owe me anything. I should never have put my own insecurities on you," Maura finished, holding back tears.

"What? Maura, no," Jane replied sitting forward to place her beer on the coffee table before embracing Maura in a hug. "Come here," she sighed, rubbing Maura's back in comfort. "You were upset, and I completely understand that."

"You do?" Maura replied, before pulling back to look her in the eye.

"Of course. What, you don't think that I haven't thought about how I would cope without you?"

Jane watch Maura as her eyes became downcast and a slight shrug of indifference graced her shoulders. Jane lifted Maura's chin with a single finger to make Maura look at her, before she cupped the side of her face.

"Maura, your place in my life is… is irreplaceable," Jane whispered, searching Maura's teary eyes for understanding. "Do you know how important you are to me? How special you are?"

A single tear fell from Maura's eye as she fought to hold them back. "No," she replied between ragged breathes as she struggled to keep her eyes locked with Jane's, avoiding them as best she could.

Jane cupped Maura's face with both hands, bringing her face up to find eye contact once again. "Maura, look at me. Look at me, Maura."

The seriousness and roughness of Jane's strained voice helped Maura to lift her eyes, locking them with Jane's. She saw the unshed tears in Jane's eyes as she spoke again.

"You are the most… wonderful person I've ever known, and I would be… I would be lost without you, Maura," Jane said, holding back tears as she watch them fall from Maura's eyes. She wiped the tear stains from Maura's cheeks with her thumbs as she continued.

"You are my rock, do you understand?" Jane pleaded. She let out a slight breathy laugh as Maura shook her head, obviously not understanding the idiom she was referring to. She closed her eyes as she placed her forehead against Maura's.

"It means, you are my strength; the person who is always there for me, even…" she sighed, "even when I don't even realise I need you," Jane finished as her hands fell between them, landing upon Maura's thighs.

Maura's breathing began to settle as she realised that she meant as much to Jane as Jane meant to her. They remained close, foreheads joined, breaths mingling as one, and the feeling of security, safety, and love overwhelmed her senses. Her whole body began to flutter as she realise how easy it would be to inch forward and place her lips upon Janes. The desire to do just that was unexpected. While she didn't want to confuse her need to not be abandoned by Jane with feelings of desire for Jane, she couldn't stop her hands from gliding from Jane's hands, along her arms, and stopping to rest in the crook of her neck.

Jane felt a surge of excitement as Maura's hands travelled the length of her arm, leaving a path of goose bumps in their wake. Her breathing became laboured as she tried to pass off the feeling as a normal reaction to a best friend. Her eyes closed tighter as she fought the onset of desire created by Maura's hands finding their way to hold the side of Jane's face. As she felt Maura's hands brush her hair from her face and pull back, she opened her eyes to see Maura's tear stained face looking back at her expectantly. Expectantly, and confused.

"Jane?" Maura whispered, unsure about where this was, or should be, headed.

As their eyes searched each other's, with brief yet obvious glances towards mouths, the pull they both felt was hard to ignore. Just as they began to move closer, giving in to their desires, the vibration of Jane's phone caused them to spring apart, essentially ending the moment. The vibration was quickly followed by the ring of Maura's phone, indicating that they had a case.

"Rizzoli," Jane answered, standing to pace the living room, avoiding eye contact with Maura.

"Isles," Maura answered shakily from the couch, watching Jane.

After ending the calls, Jane turned to Maura. "We've got a case. Let's go."

A nod was all Maura was able to offer in reply as she stood and made her way to the door ahead of Jane. Jane took a deep breath and ran a shaky hand down her face before picking up her gun and badge and following Maura out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

"Maura, Jane, what are you two doing here?" Korsak questioned as they stepped under yellow tape on their way to the crime scene.

"I'm here to look at my crime scene, Korsak. What do you think we're doing here?" Jane replied as Korsak walked beside her in step.

"You and Frost are not on call tonight," Korsak replied as he reached out to grab Jane's shoulder, stopping her from going any further. "Jane, you shouldn't have been called. Detective Crowe is here. It's his case."

Jane sighed as she looked at Maura who had initially continued walking, however was now making her way back to them. "Detective Korsak, why was I called out to inspect a body when Dr Pike is already on the scene?"

Detective Korsak looked between Jane and Maura and noticed the tension between them and their frazzled state. Not wanting to interfere, he passed over it before answering Maura.

"I'm sorry, Dr Isles. There must have been some mix up," he said apologetically. "I hope we haven't kept you from anything important."

Maura and Jane's eyes met briefly, before returning to face Korsak.

"It's perfectly okay, Detective," Maura replied, smoothing the invisible wrinkles in her dress. "It didn't even occur to me that I'm not on call tonight. If you'll excuse me."

Maura made her way to the car under the watchful eye of Jane.

"Is everything ok, Jane?" Korsak asked, pulling Jane's gaze away from Maura.

"Everything's fine," Jane replied without hesitation.

"If you say so," Korsak replied, disbelievingly. "Get out of here Jane. We can handle this. And you've been drinking, so you shouldn't even be here."

Jane looked at Korsak wondering how he knew she had been drinking… and also wondering how she failed to register this fact before she and Maura made their way out to a crime scene.

"Yea, sorry. Habit I suppose," Jane replied with a slight smile before patting Korsak's arm and following Maura to her car. "See you Monday, Korsak."

As Jane approached Maura, who was sitting in the driver's seat of her car, she felt relief that she wasn't on call for the week end. Her attendance at a crime scene under the influence of alcohol was poor judgement, and she felt the need to sort out whatever it was that was going on between herself and Maura before going back to work. It was obviously affecting her, and as a result it would affect her work.

Jane opened the passenger door to Maura's car and got in, surprising Maura.

"Jane!" Maura jumped.

"No car remember," Jane replied. "Drive me home?"

"Yes, of course," Maura replied as she started the engine and left the crime scene.

As they pulled into a car park out the front of Jane's apartment, Maura turned off the engine.

"Are we going to talk about what happened?" Maura asked without taking her eyes off the road in front of her.

"Nothing actually happened, Maura. It just…" Jane sighed, lowering her voice to a whisper, "almost happened."

Maura looked over at Jane as she sat kneading her hands in her lap. She looked as confused and as terrified as Maura felt, which, oddly enough, made Maura feel just that little bit better.

"Jane," Maura began in a whisper, "when I saw the ring on your finger today, it felt…" she paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "It felt like my heart was breaking."

Jane looked over at Maura at the sound of her voice breaking and noticed the tears that were again threatening to fall.

"Maura, I… I don't know… what to say," Jane replied hesitantly.

"You don't have to say anything, Jane," Maura replied, taking a deep breath to control her emotions. "I think I'm just a little emotional, and when I thought I could lose you, I… I don't know."

Jane looked at Maura, attempting to understand exactly what she was saying.

"Are you saying you tried to kiss me to get me to stay?" Jane asked, confused and a little upset.

"What? No," Maura replied turning to face Jane. "That's not what I meant. At least… I don't think that's what I meant."

"You don't think?" Jane replied, turning the heat of the conversation up a notch. "You try to kiss me, and now you're saying you don't even know why?"

"That's not fair, Jane," Maura said diplomatically. "I was merely trying to say that… that… that I'm just a little emotional right now."

"That's not an excuse Maura," Jane replied.

Maura looked up at Jane, hearing the hint of venom in her voice.

"Now wait just a minute, Jane," she started, sitting up straight in her seat and shifting to face Jane properly. "You keep saying that I tried to kiss you, but you aren't innocent in this whole scenario."

"So you didn't want to kiss me?" Jane asked exasperated as she instinctively leaned closer to Maura.

"Of course I did!"

They sat, facing each other, searching each other's eyes as the intensity of what this conversation meant started to sink in. They could have played it off as nothing. They could have passed it off as an emotional outbreak brought on by the possibility of their separation. But as their voices halted and their eyes remained locked, they both realised that this was not some passing moment that could be waved off as something insignificant.

As they both realised that the other wanted this to happen, eyes again fell to lips, and hands slowly reached across to find skin. As they moved together to breach the small gap that lay between them, a car alarm sounded behind them causing them both to jump.

On instinct, Jane jumped out of the car, her hand hovering over her weapon, to see what had set it off. As she approached the car, her neighbour came out of his house to turn off the alarm.

"Sorry," her neighbour called out. "It's been doing that today. I'll be getting it fixed tomorrow."

Jane just waved a 'no worries' at him accompanied by a fake smile before making her way back to the car. She kneeled at the passenger door as she spoke.

"Do you want to come up?"

Maura looked into Jane's eyes. She saw the confusion mixed with want that she was sure was also evident in her own eyes. She knew that if she went up to Jane's apartment tonight in her current state, something might happen between them, and that was something she needed to deliberate on before acting on. There was too much as stake not to.

"I think I should just go home, Jane," Maura eventually replied, her eyes unable to hold contact.

"Probably a good idea," Jane sighed. "Besides, I think the world is trying to tell us something," she finished with a slight chuckle.

"Jane, the world is certainly not capable of speaking," Maura replied, confused.

Jane smiled, finding Maura's lack of comprehension of idioms endearing.

"Unexpected call outs and random car alarms suggest otherwise," Jane replied with a smile before standing to leave. She popped her head down as she held the car door open. "Good night, Maura," she whispered, before closing the door and heading into her apartment.

"Good night, Jane," Maura replied as she watched Jane climb her stairs and enter her apartment building


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So very sorry for the long delay in updating this story. Life has a habit of getting in the way of me doing the things I really like to do.

* * *

Jane made her way into her apartment, locking the door behind her. On autopilot, she dropped her gun and badge in a side table, along with her keys, flicked on the laptop on her bench and went straight to the fridge. She grabbed a beer and made her way to the couch. The couch on which, less than an hour ago, she nearly kissed her best friend.

Having time to think about it now, she realised that had Casey not been in the picture, it would have seemed like a plausible next step in her relationship with Maura. Surprising herself with this revelation, she shook her head in disbelief and laughed to herself before taking a large swig of her beer. A knock at the door caught her off guard, however, and she inadvertently dribbled beer down the front of her shirt.

"Shit," she cursed, placing her beer down and unbuttoning her shirt as she moved to answer the door. She looked through the peep hole and was surprised to see Maura standing there… fidgeting. She smiled as she realised that the world may very well be telling them one thing, but Maura and herself were not about to be easily swayed. She opened the door with a smile.

"Third times a charm?" Jane greeted Maura with a smile. A smile that was returned easily.

Maura tilted her head to the side slightly, taking in the sight of Jane standing in front of her, smiling mischievously with her shirt unbuttoned. She walked through the door, passing Jane a little closer than usual, and placed her bag on the bench counter.

"You know, there are mixed superstitions about the number three," Maura began as she turned to face Jane, who was closing the door with a smile still on her face.

"The Chinese consider it a good number, due to its likeness in sound to the word 'Alive', as oppose to the number four, which sounds like 'Death'," Maura rambled, her hands gesturing as she spoke.

"Oh yea?" Jane asked as she took a step closer. Then another.

"Yes. Also, historically, it is often said... that is, some say that… luck comes in threes," Maura continued, stumbling somewhat over her words, leaning back to find the bench top to hold onto. "Although, technically," she paused to take a breath as Jane stepped closer to her again, "Technically, this also refers to bad luck."

Jane stopped within touching distance to Maura. "And the saying 'third times a charm'?" Jane asked softly.

"Refers to the… superstition that after two failures in any endeavour, a third… well, a third attempt is more likely to succeed," Maura finished in hushed tones. "Jane?"

"Yes, Maura?"

Maura looked up into Janes eyes, before looking back down to her unbutton shirt. It was then that she noticed the stain on her white top, and the look of desire she had in her eyes turned to a look of slight confusion and amusement.

"How...? Is that… beer? Down the front of your top?" she asked with humour in her voice. "How on earth did you manage to spill beer on your top? I left you alone for all of two minutes."

Jane looked sheepishly at her top then back at Maura. She shrugged.

"I was somewhat… distracted," she replied.

"Is that right?" Maura asked with a flirty smile, eyebrows raised suggestively.

"Yes," Jane replied, matching Maura's flirty smile with one of her own.

"And what was it that was so distracting that you lost the ability to consume liquids?"

Jane's only response was a wicked smile and a quick flick of her tongue between her lips, which did not go unnoticed by Maura. But as Jane's eyes roamed the face in front of her, her dark eyes began to soften. It was in that moment that she began to realise what has been in front of her all along.

Noticing the playful look in Jane's eyes change to one of more seriousness, Maura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Jane?"

Jane placed her hand on Maura's hip and brought her left hand up to run her fingers through Maura's hair. "Yes?"

With another heavy breath, Maura replied, "Jane, what does all this mean? And where does Casey fit into all of this?" She opened her eyes and looked up into Jane's. The seriousness was still there, but now she also saw fear, and confusion.

"I…" Jane started, only to be interrupted by her computer indicating a new email.

"Speaking of Casey," Maura whispered as she extracted herself from Jane's hold. "I should go."

As Maura grabbed her purse and began to leave, Jane, with a hop, skip and a jump, put herself between Maura and the exit.

"Maura, wait. Don't go," Jane pleaded.

The pleading, yet still confused, look in Jane's eyes made Maura hesitate. She glanced back at the laptop on Jane's bench, then back at Jane. With a final look of determination, she knew what she had to say.

"Jane, can I be completely honest with you?"

Jane looked at Maura as if to say 'since when are you not completely honest'. "Of course."

"I said to you earlier that when I saw the ring on your finger it felt like my heart was breaking. And I've spent every moment since then wondering why it would cause me so much pain to see my best friend get married. Yes it is true, I do not want my best friend moving halfway across the world… Away from me. It is also true that I like the time we spend together, and I was fearing that even if you were to stay in Boston, this would inevitably change when you get married…"

"Maura…" Jane tried to interrupt.

"Let me speak, Jane," Maura said, cutting her off with a step closer to her. She took a deep breath and another step closer as she search Jane's eyes, needing to gauge her reaction to what she was about to say. "When we were on that couch earlier, and we almost…" Maura sighed, taking another deep breath. "It all started to make sense. I now understand why my heart aches."

"Why?" Jane replied softly with baited breath.

"Because I want you Jane," Maura replied with determination, stepping into Jane's personal space and causing Jane to fall back into the closed door behind her. "I want to kiss you, and hold your hand. I want to undress you and make you scream _my_ name as your body is overcome by an orgasm. I want to taste you and feel you and hold you and love you. So, that's why. Because I want you Jane."

The shock Jane was experiencing was quickly being replaced with intense desire for the woman standing so close she could feel the fabric from her clothes brush against her skin. Searching Maura's eyes, seeing the truth of her words in the depths of them, she brought her hand up to the back of Maura's neck, leaning forward intent of capturing her lips once and for all.

Once again, however, this kiss was not to be. A loud, unavoidable ringing came from Jane's laptop; a Skype call, undoubtedly from Casey.

"Oh, for the love of…" Jane sighed, leaning her forehead against Maura's as she closed her eyes in frustration.

"You should get that," Maura sighed as she stood tall and backed, yet again, away from Jane's embrace. She took a step around Jane and reached for the door handle. Without looking up, she uttered to Jane, "I don't want to be anyone's consolation prize, Jane."

Before Jane had a chance to respond, Maura was gone and she was left standing alone in her apartment with only the sound of an incoming call.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for all the great reviews. I promise not to keep you waiting long for the next chapter (which I believe will be the final chapter)


	5. Final Chapter - Into the Unknown

A/N: After such a long wait (grr to parents and their separation! Playing mediator is not fun!) I'm happy to give you the final chapter of this story. Thank you for your patience. For those following my other story, I will endeavour to update that one ASAP also.

* * *

"Maura, stop," Jane called out as she launched herself from the top of the stairs to land in front of Maura at the bottom. Albeit, not as gracefully as they do in the movies, as her leg gave way and she ended up in a heap at the doctor's feet.

"Oh my goodness! Jane are you okay?" Maura asked as she quickly knelt down to make sure Jane wasn't injured.

"I'm fine," Jane replied with a wince as she grasped at her knee in pain. "Or, maybe not."

"Come on, superman," Maura replied as she helped Jane up. "Let's get you inside so I can check you out."

Jane placed her arm around Maura's shoulders as Maura slipped her arm around Jane's waist. They made their way to the top of the stairs.

"Like you haven't been checkin' me out all night," Jane whispered, winking at Maura when she turned to admonish her.

"Now is not the time to joke, Jane. You could have seriously injured yourself," Maura said as she guided Jane into the building and up the internal stairs.

"You started it, with your 'superman' comment," Jane eventually retorted, as they reached the door to her apartment. "I ain't no superman. I'm a super woman." She finished with a wide grin.

Maura helped her to the couch trying to hide a grin of her own, unwilling to let Jane see just how much she adored Jane's childish behaviour. She left her sitting on the couch as she went to the kitchen to grab an icepack for Jane's knee. She turned from closing the freezer to find Jane standing in the entrance way to the kitchen.

"Jane! Your knee!"

"It's fine," Jane replied, waving it off. "It doesn't hurt, see?" She hoped around on both legs freely with no apparent injury.

"You made me practically carry you all the way up the stairs for nothing?"

Jane shrugged as she began to take slow, deliberate steps towards her.

"I wasn't about to say no to having your arms around me."

Maura's eyes softened as Jane approached her. Jane's eyes reflected cautiousness as she approached, but also the love and hope that Maura had wanted to see earlier. When Jane's hand reached out to take the icepack from her, her eyes followed the hand as it placed the pack on the bench beside her. She looked up only when she felt slender fingers under her chin, coaxing her to lock eyes with the detective.

"You, Maura Isles, are not, and will never be, anyone's consolation prize," Jane whispered as she wrapped an arm around Maura's waist. "Especially not mine."

Jane leaned in to place a soft kiss on Maura's right cheek, lingering to take in the scent and softness of her skin. "And I would love nothing more," Jane started as she moved to place her lips on Maura's other cheek, watching Maura's eyes close at the intimate contact, "than to kiss you," she continued as she placed a kiss on Maura's forehead, "and hold your hand," she added as she interlaced her free hand with Maura's, "and make love to you," she finished as her lips brushed the tip of her nose.

Maura gasped at the intimacy of the moment; Jane's words and the way she was showering her with kisses. "Jane," Maura sighed as she opened her eyes to find Jane inches from her face, watching her, waiting…

Jane watched as Maura fought the urge to lean forward and kiss her. She watched as Maura's bottom lip was captured between her teeth and her eyes darted towards the laptop sitting on the kitchen bench.

"What about…" Maura started hesitantly and with annoyance as she silently berated herself for not being able to just ignore her brain and its incessant need to get to the bottom of things.

Jane wrapped her arms around Maura's waist and leaned back slightly to look into Maura's eyes properly.

"Maura, I can honestly say, there is," she glanced at the laptop, before looking back at Maura, "no one that I would rather spend my time with. There's no one I would rather have by my side. And it may have taken me years to realise it, but there truly is no one else I want to be with; intimately, spiritually and emotionally."

Maura looked up at Jane in awe, unable to believe the words that Jane had just spoken.

"Jane, that's…. that's the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to me," Maura gushed as she ran a hand up Janes arm to rest in the crook of her neck.

"Yea, well," Jane said with a shrug, "tell anyone about it and I'll deny, deny, deny."

"And… then you had to ruin it with that big mouth of yours," Maura retorted with a smile and the shake of her head.

They continued to stand, wrapped together, smiling like teenagers at each other. While they had been quick to move in for a kiss several times throughout the night, deep down they were both wondering what the next interruption will be.

"So," Maura sighed with a smile.

"So," Jane replied with an equally giddy grin.

"This is… unknown territory for me, Jane," Maura admitted.

"Then we are heading into the unknown together," Jane replied confidently, receiving an ear to ear smile in response.

"The world be damned?" Maura replied with a wink.

"I don't care what the world is trying to tell us," Jane replied pulling Maura closer. "I want you."

"I want you too," Maura whispered as she leaned up to capture Jane's lips.

Just as they thought they had solved the problem of interruptions, Jane's phone began to ring causing Maura to turn and gaze at it angrily.

"Seriously?" Maura grunted, throwing her arms up in annoyance.

"Fuck it," Jane said, ignoring her phone. She gathered Maura back into her arms and pressed her lips firmly upon Maura's.

With an encouraging moan from Maura, she pushed her against the fridge, running her hands down the length of her designer outfit, memorising every curve of her body. Their body's melded together as Maura's arms wrapped tightly around Jane's neck and one of her legs, with a mind of its own, wrapped itself around Jane's legs.

They eventually pulled their lips apart, frazzled and gasping for breath, but not willing to let go of each other just yet.

"Wow," they both said simultaneously, before grinning at each other once again.

"Wanna take this someplace more…" Jane looked around the kitchen briefly, "comfortable?"

With an encouraging smile, Maura pulled away from Jane and grabbed her hand, heading off in the direction of Jane's bedroom. "I thought you'd never ask."

With a glance back at the couch, just replied, "I was talking about the couch, but I'm happy to skip that step if you are."

The door closed behind them as they ventured into the unknown together.


End file.
